THORACOSTOMY (CHEST TUBE) PLACEMENT
Date: <____>
Time: <____>
Indication: Pneumothorax/Hemothorax
Resident: <____>
Attending: <____>
A time-out was completed verifying correct patient, procedure, site, positioning, and special equipment if applicable. The patient was positioned appropriately for chest tube placement. The patient’s <right/left> chest was prepped and draped in sterile fashion. 1% Lidocaine was used to anesthetize the surrounding skin area. A <2 cm> skin incision was made in the mid-axillary line at the inframammarycrease. Utilizing blunt dissection a subcutaneous tunnel was created cephalad just adjacent to the superior rib. The pleural space was entered bluntly and gush of <air/blood> was observed. A finger was inserted into the pleural space to check for anatomy and guide tube insertion. A <36F/40F> thoracostomy tube was inserted using a Kelly clamp and positioned appropriately. The chest tube was sutured securely to the skin and a sterile dressing applied. A pleurevac was attached to the chest tube and a chest x-ray obtained. <Attending/Resident> was present for the entire procedure.
Estimated Blood Loss: <____>
The patient tolerated the procedure well and there were no complications.
Other procedure note examples:
- Endotracheal Intubation
- Central Line (CVC) Access
- Arterial Line
- Lumbar Puncture
- Thoracentesis
- Thoracostomy (Chest Tube)
- Swan-Ganz Catheter Placement
Also, thank you to my two favorite websites for helping me write notes in the hospital:
My name is Andrew and I am a first year resident training to be an ophthalmologist. I created ShortWhiteCoats to provide medical students, residents, and the public with all the information I spent so many hours looking for during medical school.
2 comments
Anonymous
September 22, 2012 at 2:00 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Thank you! So helpful for newbie interns!
Anonymous
March 26, 2013 at 9:27 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
I had this procedure (chest tube insertion) performed on me some 23 days ago, I have been having some bubbling sound around my lower rib region when breathing, is that any problem?